Page One

University of California at Berkeley has a new police chief, campus officials announced Thursday.

Margo Bennett, 59, a UC Berkeley police captain with more than 35 years of law enforcement experience, was named the new top cop in the department.

Bennett had been serving as interim chief since Dec. 30 after former Chief Mitch Celaya retired, according to school officials.

"I am honored to have been selected for this position," Bennett said in a statement. "We have a highly skilled and dedicated police force at UC Berkeley, and I am committed to moving us to a higher level."

Bennett joined the department as a captain in 2002 after previously working for the FBI and as police chief of the Northern Virginia Community College Police Department.

UC Berkeley police oversee the main campus, as well as other UC-owned properties such as Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory and University Village in Albany, according to school officials.